Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Review: True Fit Convertible Car Seat

Blogs are buzzing about the True Fit car seat by The First Years. We’ve been using it for the past two months. Here’s the skinny.

Our 3-month-old and 4-year-old in the same True Fit seat.

The Big Idea

The True Fit is the granddaddy of convertible child car seats. This class of seat can be used from infancy (rear-facing) to toddlerhood (forward-facing). In other words, you buy one seat instead of two until your child is probably ready for a booster seat (laws vary by state). The True Fit is rated for kids 5 to 65 lbs.

Unlike the car seat my daughter outgrew by her fourth birthday, an EvenFlo Triumph convertible seat, you’ll notice in the photo above that at age 4 she still fits the True Fit. Even with the seat misleadingly angled away from the camera, you can see there is room to spare.

Why does it matter? Because each seat has safety guidelines that dictate how tall a child can grow before the seat becomes unsafe. Common gauges are where the top of the child’s head or ears fall in relation to the top of a head rest and where the shoulders fall in comparison to the harness slot.

Our old EvenFlo topped out with a child height of 40 inches (101 cm). The True Fit comes with a head rest extension making it work for kids up to 50 inches (127 cm) tall. Genius.

There are other big ideas with this seat, but for me the critical issue is making good on the notion that a convertible car seat indeed grows with your child.

Installation Highlights

All of the mechanisms on the seat are user-friendly and, now on our second child, we could discern how each functioned without reading the manual (but always read the manual). To assist you, there are plenty of instructions and diagrams printed on both sides of the seat (one side English, the other Spanish). Installation takes no more or less time than the three other seats we’ve used for our family.

1. The seat should be positioned at a 45 degree angle when rear-facing. A “recline foot” plastic flipper underneath the seat assists with that goal. Flip it forward or backward for rear or forward-facing mode. Like other seats, if you still can’t achieve 45 degrees, the manual suggests using a towel or pool noodle to gain extra elevation.

(You may have seen some other seats with removable bases that have a built-in screw-based height adjuster. It’s much handier than using towels, but typically is found in an infant carrier seat, not a convertible.)

2. A red level indicator sticker on both sides of the seat helps you judge whether the seat is at 45 degrees. Is the red line parallel to the ground? This helped immensely, although a marble or liquid level indicator would be more precise.

3. There’s no need to use a difficult locking clip when you’re securing the seat with a lap belt. The True Fit has a built-in “auto/latch belt clamp” on both sides that you thread the belt through and lock down.

4. For forward-facing installation, again, there’s no need for a locking clip. Your car’s lap/shoulder belt hooks through a clamp in the center of the seat.

5. The seat fabric snaps off, which means if at any point you can’t see where you’re threading something, you can unsnap and get a clear view. This is 110 percent better than some other seats where I’ve had to navigate my arm through a cramped hole all the while guessing at what I’m doing.

Other Highlights

1. As your child grows, you’ll need to move the harness straps higher. The True Fit allows you to do so without removing the seat from the car or rethreading the harness. Simply grab a knob on each side of the seat, retract and slide them up. This saves you a lot of future trouble.

2. The harness latch makes sense. Some seats have buckle prongs that you hook together like puzzle pieces before inserting them into the buckle lock. They are the most annoying thing in the world.

The True Fit has two prongs that individually get inserted into the buckle lock. Simple. Easy. I’ll never buy another seat that uses the other method.

3. Cup holder! Okay, it’s ordinary, but removable and attachable on either side of the seat. This is important if your spouse is left-handed like mine and secretly tries to train your child to become left-handed. The holder opening is wide in such a way that it also accommodates those large-handled sippy cups that all the hipsters are buying these days.

4. Crotch adjuster! The bottom portion of the harness (where the buckle release button is located) has two possible positions â€” forward and back. In other words, back for an infant and forward as your child’s girth increases.

5. Loosen the harness by lifting a lever at the front of the seat, and pulling the harness outward from the shoulders. Or, tighten the harness by pulling the excess harness strap. This is fairly standard for car seats.

6. Deep side wings. When your child outgrows the seat’s extra padding (infant insert headrest, etc.) the deep sides of the seat potentially provide more coverage in the event of a side-impact collision.

Snaps! Glorious Snaps!

When your toddler pukes in her seat, what do you do? With our last seat, I actually needed a screwdriver to remove the fabric for washing! It was a nightmare… wrestling with a puke-covered seat.

The True Fit fabric is attached with 10 snaps and 4 elastic loops. It easily removes for cleaning.

Officially, you “hand wash in cool water with mild detergent and hang to dry. DO NOT machine wash or dry in a dryer.”

Oh, but I’m naughty. You see, while I had the seat on my living room floor for photographing, a wet patch mysteriously appeared on the fabric. No one claimed credit, so I had to blame the cat. After 10 years, for the first time our female cat peed on a mysterious, threatening new object in her territory.

So I unsnapped the fabric and tossed it in our front loading washer (which is gentler than a top-loader) on a “hand wash” cycle and hung it to dry overnight. I saw no ill effects afterward, but your mileage may vary. The fabric snaps precisely on the seat, so whatever you do, definitely don’t put it in a dryer.

One Criticism, Maybe

I found the chest clip on the harness to be stiff, requiring both hands to unfasten. If you’re like me, and you unhook your toddler with one hand while turning and leaning around from the driver’s seat, you may be out of luck. Likewise, a toddler may not have the hand strength to release himself… which conversely is a good thing if your child likes unhooking himself while you’re driving.

Okay, one More Criticism

Let’s face it, car seats are a whirlwind of confusion for new parents. There’s a reason service agencies hold free car seat checks (here in California often coordinated by our local police agency). This seat, like all car seats, would benefit from an instructional DVD that walks you through the installation steps.

Special Note

In forward facing mode, the True Fit requires a top tether, part of the LATCH system that exists in all new US vehicles since 2002. (The manual states, “Use top tether in all forward facing installations.”). If you have an older car, you’ll need to have a top tether installed. Not all car seats have this requirement, so I presume it pertains to the dynamics of the removable headrest.

Best Advice

The biggest issue, the one I cannot address in a review, is how well a seat fits in your car. If you have a compact car, find an independent baby store that lets you place a seat in your car for sizing, or choose a store that has an easy return policy.

Size Specifications

Rear-facing without headrest extension: 5 to 22lbs (2.3 to 10kg).

Rear-facing with headrest extension: 5 to 35lbs (2.3 to 15.88kg) and head is 1 inch below top of seat.

Forward facing: 23 to 65 lbs (10.42 to 29kg) and a height of 50
inches or less and at least 1-year-old. Car must have a top tether.

Dimensions: (LxWxH / WT): 24.00 ” x 19.50 ” x 27.50 ” / 19.25 lbs.

Final Praise

By all appearances the True Fit is comfy, plush and cushiony. It snuggles our 3-month-old baby boy quite well. He just sits and gazes happily at the mobile above his head. It’s reassuring to know he’ll likely be using this same seat when he’s my daughter’s age.

Convertible car seats can feel big and heavy, but this one does not. My 4-year-old daughter prefers the True Fit. She has used a Graco seat with memory foam in one of our cars for two years, and yet she declared the True Fit more comfortable. “It’s soft,” she says. And I must agree, it is has multiple layers of lush padding. They don’t build driver’s seats like this because you’d fall asleep at the wheel.

I’d assume that this seat needs a snugger-than-usual seat belt to compensate for all of the plush padding (which compresses in a collision situation, effectively loosening the seat belt). Do the instructions emphasize this?

Marianne: It has been crash-tested with the extant padding. therefore, no it does not need to be buckled any tighter than any other seat. If the padding that came with the seat compressed too much in an accident, it would not have passed the crash testing and therefore would not be sold this way.

This carseat reminds me a lot of the Britax Boulevard. I bought one for my child and lots of the praise you give this seat also applies to the Boulevard. Like the high weight limit (also 65 lbs), the no need to rethread the harness straps when adjusting for height and so on. Is this seat less expensive than a $300 Boulevard? That is the one downfall of the Britax brand in my opinion. They are too expensive for lots of people I know.

Marianne, the manual states, “Pull on the harness adjuster to tighten harness straps. A snug strap should not allow any slack. It lies in a relatively straight line without sagging. It does not press on the child’s flesh or push the child’s body into an unnatural position.”

That sounds to me like a routine fitting. You know, tight enough that you can’t pinch the webbing (harness).

MoJo, the True Fit’s suggested retail price seems to be $100 less than your $300 Britax, and the Amazon link has it even cheaper at $182 at the moment.

1. The True Fit is good for an extra inch of child height (50″ total).

2. True Fit has a multi-position buckle strap (my girth comment in the review), while the Boulevard does not. Another Britax model has it though.

3. The Britax doesn’t have a cup holder. What?? Really??

4. Is the Britax headrest removable? That’s a handy feature for the TrueFit, to have a smaller seat in the car until you need the extra height.

These were just the items that jumped out at me when I looked at Britax’s comparison page for its convertible seats. It’s difficult matching spec-for-spec when the companies use different terminology for comparable features.

Me? I could do without the cupholder. But its not a dealbreaker for me.

I don’t know how useful the headrest removable would be to me. My baby is 21.5 pounds right now and it has to be put back on at 22 pounds.

Oh, with the Trufit: Better make sure it fits your car WITH the headrest on. People are having problems with it fitting rear-facing with the headrest on. And to get maximum benefits of the seat, you are going to want to use it after your baby hits 22 pounds!

My baby still fits his Safeseat fine, so we did not NEED a new seat. But back before June 1, they had the Britaxes on DEEP discount, so I decided to make a decision of what seat to use next so that if it was a Britax I could take advantage of the sales.

I looked at the Trufit longily. The lockoff mechanism seems to be similar to the Safeseat mechanism (which we LOVE). And its a gorgeous seat that kids look good in.

But I ultimately decided against it and got a Britax Marathon. Things I didn’t like about the Trufit: The harness being all one loop so it was difficult to tighten on both sides at once. And the complaints I heard about short harness length in total — evidently some parents are having to move onto a new seat before their kids outgrow the seat in either direction because the harness is too short to fasten after putting around a taller/heavier child. Since our child is definitely taller, I had to take this into account.

Despite having two crotch positions, there are also complaints of the crotch strap still being two short.

Hmm, I haven’t used a seat that doesn’t have a continuous loop for the harness. It’s never been a problem for me.

As for the harness length, I’d have to see the size of these kids. So, definitely test that out in a showroom. Also, hopefully these parents have removed the extra padding by the time their kid is that big.

I do have a Britax Roundabout (on loan) and can see the harness webbing length is shorter on the True Fit. But I’m confident the seat will continue to fit our daughter because there is plenty of excess webbing still to use (you can’t see it in the photo because I tucked it under the seat).

For the previous commenter who asked for comparison to the Britax Boulevard, I have some additional observations…

-Boulevard allows for use of the tether when the seat is rear facing

-Boulevard can be installed more upright when rear facing and takes up less room front to back than the True Fit does with the headrest attached. This is important for parents who want to keep their babies rear facing past 22 lbs.

-Seems like the True Fit cover is easier to remove than the Boulevard cover. The Boulevard cover doesn’t involve any tools to remove, but you do have to remove the harness and remember how to put it back on correctly.

This looks brilliant. I became CRST certified here in Canada last year, just for my own knowledge. Now I host car seat clinics at my various work locations here in Gov’t central (I work for the Federal Gov’t).

My daughter, who turns 3 in August, is still rear-facing in her Britax Marathon. Here in Canada we are far behind in our rear and forward facing harnessing allowances. When I bought my Marathon, Transport Canada legislation deemed that even though my seat harnessed forward-facing to 66 pounds, at 48 pounds I had to take her out of her seat. After much letter writing by myself and other concerned parents, legislation was changed last fall to allow forward-facing harnessing for as long as your seat will allow. So my gamble on my very expensive Marathon (499 at the time) paid off. I am waiting patiently for us to get the Regent or Radian 85 by Sunshine Kids here. And with a tall daughter, the height of the top slots is more key than weight-limit.

The only thing I can see lacking from this seat is the use of rear-facing tether, although I may have just missed that portion in the article.

I must say it looks like someone put a lot of thought into design, and not just in the area of safety. Although like I previously stated, if I had access to them I would be purchasing the Regent or Radian 85 with their high harnessing weight-limits and high top-harness slots.

As I understand it, for parents of younger, heavier kids, the Trufit is the only seat in Canada that is sold as RFing to 35 pounds (instead of just 30). So that is another huge advantage it has in your market.

This seems to be very similar to the Sunshine Radian80 we got for my daughter when she outgrew the bucket Graco last year. She rode it it rear facing until about 28 lbs/19 months when we turned her around (although it’s rated rear facing from 5 – 33 lbs.) We did need to move the front seat of our Chevy Malibu up about 3 inches to accommodate rear facing.

It has the top tether and the thing doesn’t budge at all, no matter how hard I tug (you can only use the top tether up to 48 lbs due to car specifications). It’s one of the only seats with solid steel construction so it’s heavy, but it also folds so we got the backpack for $20 and we take it with us with no problem when traveling.

It’s rated to 80 lbs/ 51 inches and my 7 year old niece has tried it on for size with comfort to spare. It has 3 crotch buckle positions and 5 shoulder positions to accommodate all the growth. I think it has the highest height and weight range on the market.

The biggest bonus is you can fit 3 across in almost any car – including my sister’s Civic – or two with room for an adult in between!

The Radian is the #1 recommended seat for 3-across situations because it is SO narrow. However, there are two versions — Radian65 and Radian80. And they have the same seat height. So unless you’ve got a particularly short and chunky child (or want the Princess cover that is not available in the 65 pounds version) it is normally recommended to buy the cheaper Radian65.

Any chance this would work with a newborn? I know it’s “supposed to” but everyone I’ve spoken to says that while the convertible car seats SAY they are ok for newborns, I really need to get an infant car seat, and then eventually transition to the convertible car seat.

Caroline, I don’t know what you want me to say. The seat is rated for 5 to 65 lbs. I suggest you ask ‘everyone’ to qualify their claims. “What do you think that? What is the issue you are concerned with?”

Hi AJ, I should preface with, I love your blog and I’ve really learned A LOT! I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has used this for a newborn- the 4 mo old looks great in the car seat. The people I’ve talked to say that the newborns get too squished down in the convertible car seats and don’t fit as snugly as they would fit in a car seat specifically designed for infants. Obviously, you don’t have a newborn to test with anymore, I was just wondering about the other people. I think this car seat looks great and I really like your review, so I was hoping I could have ONLY one car seat. Most of the moms-in-the-know that I’ve talked to say you have to get an infant car seat first, and then the convertible. Maybe they just haven’t heard of this brand.

AJ the reason a lot of convertibles don’t work for newborns is because the lowest harness spot is too high for a newborn. You don’t HAVE to have an infant seat first. But it has a lot of conveniences. And you have to be careful which convertibles to choose.

However, no matter what car seat you get, you are likely to need more than one. Because car seats do expire after time.

i just wanted to add in that right now at Albeebaby.com you can get the True Fit for $170-$180, depending on what color option you choose. They are on sale from $200 and also offer free shipping! yay! I am about to purchase one for my 4 yr old (very petite) as well as 8 month old. My only concern is that they will not fit next to each other in the back of our truck( 2500 silverado), and that the one going rear facing will not leave enough room for the passenger up front. So if it has to go in the middle I am left with my 1st concern! anyone have this problem or in the same situation and know if they will fit? thanks ladies!

and thanks guys……as i explore the sight more and find it is run by a daddy *pulling foot out of mouth for the thanks ladies comment* i thought i best thank and guys with an input or answer to my question!

DaynaR: you can install it by using a seatbelt. the seat is equipped with seatbelt locks also to insure a secure fit. as far as moving it from vehicle to vehicle i would imagine that the unistalling and reinstalling might be a pain, but hey you do what you gotta do! =o)

I know that rear facing you can only use the bottom 2 slots. Do you think that will be an issue? I wonder if that will restrict usage for a tall child. My DD is consistently in the 99% for height. Thanks!

I bought the True Fit instead of the Britax at first, to try it out and try to save some money. I ended up returning it and buying the Britax Boulevard.
The major deterrent was the position of the strap release lever. This was not at all thought through in the design! It’s so low on the front of the seat that in rear facing, you have to jam your hand between the seat back of the car and the car seat and it makes it very difficult to lift. Also the straps move quite stiffly. The Britax has the lever higher up and it doesn’t interfere with the seat back. It would not be an issue in forward facing.
The straps come with removeable padding but I took them off because they were a bit too big for my 6 month old but the straps are a bit closer together than on the Britax and when I pulled on them to loosen them, I gave the baby a bit of rope burn from the webbing edge on his neck.
Space is not an issue in my car as I can install it in the centre position but I find the Britax takes less space because it’s more upright.
The True Fit is very plush, looks like a Lazy Boy recliner! But the seat is a bit too deep so I felt like the baby’s spine wasn’t very straight, rather curved like a c-shape a bit.
I installed it according to the directions so that the level line was parallel to the ground on a flat surface then took it to the car seat clinic and they said it was far too reclined so they adjusted it more upright. But because of the deep seat, I find the baby’s head flops forward when sleeping, rather than to the side.
The straps often twist and the single loop strap is annoying. There is no Velcro on the sides to hold the strap out of the way when putting baby in/out of the seat and the head rest is not attached, but sits loose around the straps so it’s always dropping down – just another thing to adjust. Again, not issues with the Britax.
So they may be little grievances for others but for me I figured it was worth the extra money to save myself years of aggravation.
As for the cup holder, I could care less for this and it gets in the way if you have a passenger on either side of the seat anyway.
If you really want to save the money, it’s a nice seat that goes up to higher weight rating but try it out first because it may not be right for you.

Can you please let me know if the carseat reclines in either the rear or the forward facing positions. The seat meets all my other requirements; however, I have been unable to find “reclines” as a feature.

I had two questions about this and could not find the answer anywhere.
1.)Does this car seat fit into a stroller at all so that when the baby is little and can not actually sit in a stroller alone use the car seat to be secure?
2.)Does this car seat have a handle so that the seat can be removed and carried while the child is still in the seat so that the child can be set down in the seat while at dr. appointments or while doing things where the baby is to little to be held while doing it. I just know that with my first son I would bring the car seat with me everywhere everything I got out of the car till he was about 5 months old. And I don’t know that I could live without being able to do this for 5 months.

LaDonna: 1) No 2) No.
if you want those abilities of the seat, you need an infant seat, a Bucket, for while your babie will fit. Not a convertible (first). The convertible is installed in the car and left there. Usually, a child “graduates” out of the infant seat into a convertible.

It is safest to use the convertible seat rear-facing to the limits of the seat, and then to turn it around and use it to the limits of the seat forward-facing. Then, depending on age and how mature the child is at sitting still in the car, many parents will go to a high weight harnessed forward-facing only (or forward-facing/booster combination) seat.

Even if you buy an infant seat, you will need a combination seat afterward to keep your child rear-facing.

Hi! My husband and I just bought this seat for our daughter last week. It seemed to be our best option and at a decent price. She only weighs 20 lbs, though, so it has to be rear facing for at least another 2 lbs (but I would like to keep her RF longer). We discovered the same problem mentioned above – that with the True Fit in the rear facing position, it’s very difficult to access the release strap. It seems very poorly designed (as previously mentioned). Has anyone else used the True Fit rear facing and gotten around this problem?

Just bought the True Fit and am exploring all its features at the moment. The crotch buckle has me stumped. It’s supposed to be adjustable to 2 positions, but for the life of me I can’t get this thing to move. You’re supposed to press and then push in the direction of the arrows. Believe me, I’ve pressed and pushed. This thing is not moving. Any suggestions?

My husband and I bought 2 of these car seats after much research. Today we tried to install it in our 2008 Chrysler Town and Country and had the most awful time. It has to be rear facing, upon lining the red line up to be parallel with the ground I felt like the seat was still not secure and was moving more than I’d like. I called the # listed in the manual and of course they’re only open M-F 8-5. Any suggestions on making it fit tightly? Very frustrated……

I was reading about it not fitting rear facing with the headrest in compact cars. We drive a Hyundai Elantra and are in the process of looking for a new car seat. My daughter still fits in her infant carrier and has lots of room to grow but I am finding it too heavy to cart around constantly. If you have any car seat suggestions it would be appreciated. I have read that the Britax Diplomat was better suited to smaller cars but I would have to order it online which would make returning it a pain.

We just received the car seat and installed it in our Mitsubishi Lancer (rear facing). We are very pleased with the seat. I love the tethers – very easy to install. A lot of cushion in the seat, easy to adjust the straps (easier than the Graco safeseat). I liked the fact that the cover snaps off. My son actually threw up on the seat – the first day we got it! I was so worried, but it wiped up beautifully. I do agree with accessing the release strap-that could pose a small problem. Overall we like the seat and it was a good buy for the money. We don’t have the headrest in, but I will resubmit a comment once I try it.

Sorry, it took me a while to get back. We have a problem with the headrest – not enough room in our Mitsubishi Lancer!! With the seat in a rear facing position, we will have a problem with the headrest. When the seat gets turned around it will be okay. There is just not enough room between the backseat and us two long legged adults (6′) in the front seat.

Can someone please provide the outside dimensions of the true fit? Particularly the seat depth as this will need to fit a small back seat. I’m looking for a harness seat for my 3 year old that is giving up his Roundabout to his baby brother. I have the Radian and it fits our car but it seems very small on the inside dimensions – like there’s no way he’ll still fit at 65lbs. The Frontier leaves zero leg room for him or the front seat passenger.

I just purchased this seat for my 10 month old. Mallory is 22 lbs and 28 inches long… she is in a high percentile as far as height and weight, and although she can still fit in her infant carrier, I feel that she isn’t very comfortable anymore and wanted to find her something a little bigger and more comfortable.

That being said, here is my opinion and questions regarding this seat.
I read more reviews than I can even believe, and most of my complaints seem to be the same as others.

First, the installation, which I had no part in, however my husband said it was a pain. The crotch strap is running right into the same area as the seatbelt (we have it rear facing) and makes the crotch buckle shorter. It does seem very secure, though, which is good. I do have a problem loosening the harness because of the way the seat is up against the car. Seems it may cause a struggle for me but hopefully I will get used to it. Additionally, I don’t like the fact that there isn’t a way to hold the straps to the sides while I put her in the car… minor problem, but it could have been resolved very easily so it is something to mention.

We seem to have a problem with the position of the seat, which seems to be common as well. Some have suggested a towel or pool noodle to angle it the right way. I am going to try this today, because as of right now, the red line is not parallel and she seems to be too upright. When she fell asleep, her little head fell forward and I don’t like that at all! I am hoping that the towel adjustment will help remedy that. I am wondering if anyone else had to use this method and if it helped?

Other than the head falling problem, the seat seems to be very comfy… she fell right to sleep in it and didn’t fuss when I first put her in it like she has been doing with the infant carrier. The fabric is very plush and looks very high end for the price. The size has been an issue for a lot of reviewers, but I actually find that is fits nicely into our GMC Envoy… it is actually smaller then her infant carrier! I had a blind spot with the carrier but not with this, which is great. I am a little concerned about the headrest, though, because I am not sure that it will fit in the RF position. Isn’t there a certain weight/height that you are supposed to install the headrest for? She is a good 4-5 inches below the top of the seat (I think the instruction manual suggests at least 1 inch), but I wasn’t sure because someone mentioned weight?

Overall, I think this seat is a good choice, and I think it will be wonderful when she is front facing. Any advice regarding my questions is greatly appreciated!

Hi folks. I have 2 of these TruFits. My 10 month old, 24 lb, 31 in long son loves it. He is very comfy. Lots of neat features.

I have to say, to my dissappointment, the seat was not easy to install. It is impossible to use in the middle of the back seat when rear facing, because to make it level, the seatbelt does not fit snugly in place under the clips- it slides down as we attempt to tighten the seatbelt, before securing it with clips. If we dont pull it tight, the seat moves too much.

Anyone else having trouble with this? For now is RF in the outboard position. This makes me uncomfortable. Ive tried everything I think. Does anyone have a solution or tips to get a sung fit while using it in the middle???